


Pandora's Box: "Heart of Gold"

by azrailthefallen, KamiKazi, natsukinoko, peppermint666



Series: Connection Chain [1]
Category: Pandora's Box (LQ)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-09
Updated: 2018-10-10
Packaged: 2019-07-28 16:02:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16245074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/azrailthefallen/pseuds/azrailthefallen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/KamiKazi/pseuds/KamiKazi, https://archiveofourown.org/users/natsukinoko/pseuds/natsukinoko, https://archiveofourown.org/users/peppermint666/pseuds/peppermint666
Summary: The road to the beginning of the abyss days.





	1. The Trip

**Author's Note:**

> There will be multiple writing styles within the story due to numerous existing characters.

 

**━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━**

A mysterious figure circles a large rundown building succumbed within darkness and mist, it was surrounded by remnants of its other parts, forests, and miscellaneous structures. The size of the location was unbelievably large, easily for anyone to slip in to get lost within its scope. Footsteps could be heard from the distance. Another silhouette appeared, running blindly throughout the area, crying and running while limping, desperately getting away from a h$% _@_ **kK** d. As the frightened individual's pace slowed down, the peculiar-looking figure caught up to them.

**_I W1LL D0 ANYTH1N6_ **

**@** # **$##** %$#% **N451** # **%** #

As the target was caught, they were tied onto a rocket chair with the use of thorns to decrease their struggle to escape. After a few minutes later, the prisoner blasted off into nothingness. A chuckle could be heard echoing throughout the wreckage.

Victory being earned rightfully by the executioner, they continued to lurk in the shadows. With terrifyingly immense power, they set out to hunt down more prisoners. The reason still remains unknown to this day, but one thing is for sure:

**Do #n-t bec3o^%me that pr453isoner**

 

 

 **???:**  “....”

 **???:**  “....”

 **???:**  “...Agh!”

Natsuki nearly jumped out of her seat from immense shock. Although the air conditioner was opened, she was sweating bullets, wheezing ever so slightly. After a few seconds of realization, she calmed herself down and laid back, sighing, putting her hand on her chest.

 **Kaz:**  “Tsuki, are you okay?”  _He looked worried as he sprung from his seat._

 

It took moments for Natsuki to regain her composure. She remained silent for a while which only raised Kaz’s concerns. At first, she had no idea what had just happened. After a minute had passed, she gradually remembered the scenario that played out whilst she was asleep earlier. An eerie sanatorium-like district. Two figures. The immense feeling of hopelessness. And an ominous phrase that appeared in velvet red blood.

_**I WILL D0 4NYTH1N6** _

 

 **Natsuki:**  “I... had an odd dream.”

 **Pepper:**  “If it was frightening enough to wake you up that way, I suggest you should at least tell us about it to ease your troubles.”

_Kaz, Yumi, Adam, and Tami all nodded in unison._

**Tami:**  “That's right, besides, with what you've been dreaming of the past few days - it really has me worried. It has constantly been premonitions.”

 **Yumi:** “Yup, although we can't say for sure this time, it's best to be safe than sorry!”

 **Darkstar [scoffing]:** “All of you are just scaring yourselves, premonitions are not real. There's always an explanation behind everything. A  _logical_  one.”

 **Yumi:** “You always say that and yet when you're proven wrong, you're still so stubborn!”

 **Darkstar:** “I'm telling you, things like that are not real!”

 **Adam:** “Cut it out! Real or not, let's just give it a hear to comfort her.”

 **Darkstar:** “Ugh, right, whatever.”

 **Tami [sighing]:** “...Well, moving on, what happened, Natsuki?”

Although Natsuki did not want to talk about it all that much, Tami served useful when it came to occurrences such as this. Despite Darkstar constantly going against her, Tami proves Darkstar wrong one way or another almost every time something considerably strange happens. Natsuki inhaled and exhaled, readying herself to explain the nightmare.

 **Soleon:** “Whoa! Watch out, everyone!”

 **Natsuki:** “...Wait, huh?”

 **Arima:**  “Oh shit, we're so close!”

**[SFX: SCREECH]**

Suddenly, the bus stopped abruptly. All the members nearly jumped out of their seats, others squealing, shocked over what had just happened. Shortly thereafter, silence devoured the air and only subtle movements could be heard. Once some opened the curtains covering the outside view, they noticed that the location they were in appeared rather...eccentric.

 

 **Shii [fidgeting]:** “I-Is everyone alright?”  _She asks nervously, defeating the dead quiet atmosphere as to not make it any more frightening._

 **Seii [amused]:** “Wow! That felt like we were in an airplane and it just landed!”

 **Soleon [sighing]:**  “Airplanes are more graceful when it comes to landing, y’know.”

_Crysstal peered through the window while everyone began chattering amongst themselves regarding the situation they've gotten into._

**Crystal:**  “Where... is this?”

_The outside was filled with fog, however you could slightly make out the shapes despite the murk surrounding the area._

**Quantum:** “It looks like a ruin.”

 **Arima:** “Maybe it  _is_ one?”

 **Cyan:** “We'll never know if we don't investigate ourselves. Hey, Mellow! Can you ask permission to the driver since you're in the front row?”

 **Mellow:** “Why did you give me the responsibility?”

 **Cyan:** “I'm curious as to what's going on, and you're the closest one to the driver.”

 **Mellow [scoff]:**  “Alright, alright, hold on.”

_There was a decent amount of space between the driver and the front row seaters. Since the driver's seat is relatively large, Mellow moves forward to check._

**Mellow:**  “I'm truly sorry for disturbing you but...”

 **Mellow:** “Um, you see... wait, are you listening...?”

 **Mellow:** “Huh... no reply? Are you aslee...”

_She leans in to check however what she sees next gives her the shivers._

**Mellow [panic]:** “What the ━  **Hey, where did our driver go?!** ”  _Realizing that the person in charge had disappeared out of the blue, she yelled._

 **Mizu:**  “Is this some sort of joke?”

 **Cyan:** “Nice one, Mel!”

 **Mellow:**  “I'm being serious here!”

_Mizu moves forward to inspect the driver's seat as well._

**Mizu:** “...Ah, it's legitimate.”

 **Seii:** “The driver disappeared?”

 **Mizu:** “Yeah!”

 **Quantum:** “Just like my soul.”

 **Raffph:** “Quantum, you stop that.”

 **Seii:** “Wait, then how did the brakes...?”

 **Tami:** “Oh God, no.”

 **Darkstar:** “For all we know, they could have just stopped and ran out to fool us!”

 **Yumi:** “No, there wouldn't be time to! We would notice it sooner, the car door slamming would notify us right away!”

 **Darkstar:** “With how noisy everyone is?!”

 **Yumi:** “At least Mellow would hear!”

 **Darkstar:** “She was asleep earlier!”

 **Pooks:**  “Everyone,  **everyone!**  please calm down! We really shouldn't be making such a big clamor!”

 **Yumi:** “She started it!”

 **Darkstar:** “Ugh, whatever. I'll just shut up.”

 **Pooks:** “This is really troublesome...”

 **Raffph:** “However, it  _is_ strange, don't you think?”

_He places a hand on Pooks’ shoulder._

**Raffph:** “They probably can't help it.”

 **Pooks:**  “Yeah... I don't know what's going on either.”

_All the attendees were equally perplexed over what had just happened, and were coping in their own ways._

**Adam:** “I don't think we're really left with a choice here. We can't just rely on our driver to come back to us, we need to firstly know where we are and then seek help.”

 **Tami:** “Adam's right, but I do get a bad feeling about where we're going to.”

 **Quantum:**  “Eh, I don't really care much about what happens to me, I'll head down first.”

 **Soleon:** “Are you sure?”

 **Natsuki:** “I  _really_  don't think this is a good idea.”

_Quantum gets up from his seat and starts moving towards the doorway._

**Pooks:**  “Hey, wait! Don't be so reckless!”

 **Quantum:** “Aren't we all going out anyway? What's the difference if I go first?”

 **Pooks:** “Fine! I'll head out after you.”

 **Raffph:**  “I'm coming with Pooks!”

_The three of them headed towards the exit, accompanied by a few others behind them._

**Darkstar:** “Holy shit, it's so dark.”

 **Adam:** “Oh, don't worry about that.”

 **Adam:** “Everyone, take this.”

_Adam passes around flashlights to everyone._

__

**[Everyone obtained a flashlight]**

**Crysstal:** “Well someone got excited for our trip.”

 **Adam:** “Nah, pretty sure it's called  _preparation_.”

 **Shii:**  “H-Hey, what's that thing over there?”

_Shii points towards a giant silhouette, her arms shaking a little from anxiety._

**Quantum:** “It looks like it's holding something... whatever it is.”

 **Kaz:**  “Guys, be careful!”

 **[SFX:**   **BANG!** **]**

A gunshot was heard from the distance, earning weird looks from everyone remaining on the bus. Peeking outside of the window once more, the rest began contemplating whether to get off of the vehicle or not. Natsuki was the most disturbed, she felt as though the place looked awfully familiar.

As everyone began to talk about their plans, Natsuki checked the outside, and there she heard it again.

 

**_I WILL DO ANYTHING_ **

 

* * *

 

 

 **???:** “....”

 

 **Natsuki:** “...That's all I remember.”

 

> 《 _Carries a loaded gun at all times for emergencies_ 》  
>  《 _Has military training experience_ 》  
>  《 _Foretelling dreams_ 》

**Kaz:** “Yeah, the same with me! But that dream is really damn ominous...”

> 《 _Expert at decoding / deciphering_ 》  
>  《 _Programmer_ 》

**Natsuki:**  “Then everything faded to white, right?”

 **Kaz:** “Yup. I still feel very lightheaded.”

 **Natsuki:** “I really don't think this is normal.”

 **Kaz:** “Well, of course it isn't... Don't you suspect we all got knocked out?”

 **Natsuki [scoff]:** “All at once? Is that possible?”

 **Kaz:** “Tell me, does your head hurt?”

 **Natsuki:** “Well, yes... it does feel as though it got hit by a blunt object.”

 **Kaz:**  “Or maybe the perpetrator used sleeping gas and then hit us one by one?”

 **Natsuki [shrug]:**  “I mean, I guess.”

 **Kaz:**  “I'm really scared...”

_Both Kaz and Natsuki took a look around._

**Natsuki:** “Are we the only ones here?”

 **Kaz:** “I highly doubt the others would leave us, especially when it comes to you, Pepper, Adam, Seii, and Yumi would be livid to find you missing.”

 **Natsuki:** “Good point, but everyone would equally worry about us, just as how I'm wondering where they've all gone to...”

 **Kaz:** “In that case, we have two main objectives right now. Firstly, find the others. Lastly, leave. That's all there is to it.”

 **Natsuki:** “Geez, I can't believe we're actually acting responsibly...”

 **Kaz [chuckle]:** “True, I never thought this day would come so soon.”

 

_As they discussed about their plans, they finally decided to finally inspect the elements of the domain._

_In the distance, they could roughly make out two shapes coming towards them. They feel goosebumps all over their body after noticing the two figures._

 

 **Natsuki:** “Who are those people...?”

 **Kaz:** “I don't know...”

 **Natsuki:** “Crap...”

 **Kaz:**  “I can see them getting closer... we need to move!”

 **Natsuki:** “Wait, but what if it's our friends?!”

 **Kaz:**  “It's better to be safe! Let's just leave a familiar mark so that if it's them, they can reply to us.”

_Natsuki takes out a mushroom sticker and places it onto the ground._

**Kaz:** “...Why did you bring that for the trip?”

 **Natsuki:** “I don't know, but it did come handy.”

_Kaz grabs her arm._

**Kaz:** “Alright, no time left, we need to go.”

 **Natsuki [whisper]:**  “Do you even know where we're headed to?!”

 **Kaz [whisper]:**  “No, but I know for sure we need to  **leave**!”

 **Natsuki [whisper]:** “Don't drag too fast!”

 **Kaz [whisper]:** “Alright, alright, let's just go!”

_They run towards a small building._

**Natsuki [panting]:** “Why are there so much obstacles around? And why are there barely any doors for us to go in, just windows?!”

 **Kaz:**  “This place is pretty old, so that's probably why!”

_They entered the scene._

 

There are red chests, electric chairs and rocket chairs, ciphers, benches, and multiple small rooms. There are letters smeared onto the wall, one reading " **H e l p** " which only makes the two more uncomfortable as they ventured further. As they inspected one area, they placed the broken door back into place and began closely listening to their surroundings.

 

 **Natsuki [whisper]:** “I can vaguely hear their footsteps...”

 **Kaz [whisper]:** “We need to stay quiet.”

_Natsuki nodded. The two of them searched through their bag to find something to waste time._

**Natsuki [whisper]:** “Hey, Kazzy? Does your phone work?”

 **Kaz [whisper]:** “Wait, let me check.”

_Kaz attempts to open his phone. Nothing happens._

**Natsuki [whisper]:** “Shit, so yours doesn't work either. We're screwed.”

**[Footsteps getting louder]**

**Natsuki [whisper]:** “Kazzy... I can hear it getting nearer.”

 **Kaz [whisper]:**  “...Don't worry, all we need to do is stay quiet... everything'll be fine.”

 **Natsuki [whisper]:** “Why don't our phones work at such urgent times?”

 **Kaz [whisper]:** “Heh, I guess we're trapped in some kind of horror game...”

 **Natsuki [whisper, scoff]:** “Haha, very funny...”

**[Footsteps getting even louder]**

**Natsuki [whisper]:** “I... hope everything will turn out okay...”

 **Kaz:** “Y-Yeah...”

_The two closed their eyes, chanting small prayers. However, it was no use. The sounds only got closer, and the louder it was, it was same volume of their heartbeat._

**???:** “Well, if it isn't...”

**[SFX: DOOR SLAM]**

**Natsuki and Kaz:** “RUN TSUKI, I'LL BUY YOU TIME!” “RUN KAZZY, I'LL BUY YOU TIME!”

_The two still had their eyes closed, and began to aimlessly run from whoever opened the door._

**Pooks:** “HEY, WAIT! IDIOTS!”

_Pooks immediately catches up to them, grabbing both of them by the arm._

> 《 _Has a habit of lying_ 》  
>  《 _Easily able to deceive others_ 》

**Pepper:** “Oh...I'm really sorry I scared you two. Are you both alright?”

> 《 _A good organizer, especially with plans_ 》  
>  《 _An aspiring psychologist, can read people well_ 》

 

* * *

  **【SCENE 1: END】**

 

【 **ACHIEVEMENT: REUNION** 】

 

【 **SCENE 1: END** 】


	2. Hunter

**━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━**

****

**【CURRENT PARTY】**

****

**━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━**

**『NATSUKI - STATUS: ALIVE』**

**『KAZ - STATUS: ALIVE』**

**『POOKS - STATUS: ALIVE; SLIGHTLY DAMAGED』**

**『PEPPER - STATUS: ALIVE; SLIGHTLY DAMAGED』**

**━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━**

**Natsuki:** “So, you two haven't seen the rest of our friends either?”

 **Pepper:** “Yeah. When I came to, Pooks scared the living hell out of me by smacking my face, so I hit him with full force.”

 **Pooks [tearing up]:** “Pepper is so mean! Boohoo!”

 **Pepper:** “It was your fault, you brat.”

 **Pooks [laughing]:** “Nope! Wasn't me~!”

 **Kaz:** “Umm...How long were you two here? Er...well, awake?”

 **Pepper:** “I'm not so sure about Pooks, but I've been awake for an hour and a half. We decided to explore the area and based on what I've gathered, I made a map.”

 **Natsuki:** “Really?! Can we see it?”

 **Pooks:**  “I've been awake for 24 hou━”

 **Pepper:**  “━Do take note, this is not the entire location - who knows if I've only drawn half or a fraction of it? It's not that precise either, I forgot to add the ruins and other discoveries we've made, but I did make sure to place the notable structures.”

_Pepper takes the map out of his bag and places it on the ground for everyone to see._

**Kaz:** “Hey,  **"Execution House"**? Is that really...?”

 **Pooks:** “'Course not! They're all toys!”

 **Kaz:**  “Oh...”

 **Pepper:** “No, they are not toys. There are actual dangerous items within that cabin.”

 **Natsuki:** “And you two _investigated_ it!? What if something happened back there!? You two would have been screwed!”

 **Pepper:**  “I-I apologize, curiosity got the best of me.”

 **Pooks:** “And me!”

 **Pepper:**  “You didn't even do anything! You were just whining about how you wanted to leave.”

 **Pooks:** “Did not!”

 **Natsuki:** “Hey, during your investigation, how come you didn't come across anyone else  _at all_ _?_ Isn't that a little strange?”

 **Pepper:**  “Yes, it is. We really didn't see a single soul.”

 **Kaz:** “Considering the size of where we are right now, there's a high possibility we're all spread out in different places.”

 **Pooks:**  “Really? Everything looks tiny to me.”

 **Pepper:**  “Yes, indeed, that is likely, Kaz.”

 **Natsuki:** “I really don't think we should just be sitting around like this.”

 **Pepper:**  “That is true. But we need to be careful.”

 **Kaz:**  “Huh? Why?”

 **Pepper:**  “I've picked up a rather menacing letter while checking out the execution house.”

 **Pooks:**  “It was sooo scawy~!”

**【Pepper's party obtained a letter】**

 

 **Natsuki:** “" **Beware run ....om the hu...ter** "...”

 **Pooks:** “Beware, run from the hunter.”

 **Natsuki:** “Huh...”

 **Kaz:** “Oh God... there's a hunter on the loose?”

 **Pepper:**  “That's right. We have to be careful. Just to be sure, if we ever need to separate, we have to go by pairs.”

 **Natsuki:** “How are we going to contact each other when we do? Oh! Actually, do your phones work? Kaz and I's phones haven't been working since we've arrived.”

 **Pepper:**  “My phone broke upon arrival.”

 **Natsuki:** “Oh... that's unfortunate.”

 **Pooks:** “My phone is working just fine, see!”

_Pooks shows Natsuki the screen._

_Pepper snatches Pooks' phone._

**Pepper:**  “He literally just put a fake screen sticker on it.”

_Pepper takes the sticker off, revealing Pooks' cracked phone screen._

**Pooks:** “Oi! Why do you keep bullying me today!?”

 **Pepper:**  “It's not good to fool others.”

 **Pooks:**  “Rude! I hate you!”

 **Kaz:** “Guys, we seriously need to come up with a plan so we reach the others safe and soundly.”

_Pepper retrieves a notebook from his bag._

**Pepper:**  “I'm open to suggestions.”

 **Pooks [pout]:** “Hmmph.”

 **Natsuki:**  “Since we have no idea what the hunter looks like, we have to be wary at all times and not trust strangers too easily.”

_Pepper starts scribbling on his notebook._

>   * Hunter's identity/appearance unknown.
>   * Phones are unavailable.
>   * Everyone got knocked out after arrival.
> 


**Kaz:**  “Wait, since all our phones were okay prior to this... doesn't it mean we've encountered the hunter while we were unconscious?”

 **Pooks:**  “Hm, did anyone see anything else before we fell unconscious? Anything suspicious?”

 **Pepper:**  “Not really, no.”

 **Natsuki:** “No... well, asides from hearing _that one_ _phrase_...”

 **Kaz:**  “Ah... that.”

 **Natsuki:** “I heard a mysterious, deep voice whisper right into my ear... " **I will do anything** "”

 **Pooks:**  “It wasn't a hallucination or dream, was it?”

 **Pepper:**  “I kind of hope it is, given the danger that awaits us.”

 **Kaz:**  “I also want to take note that despite us being all knocked out, all our other items are still intact. Asides from our unusable phones...nothing else has been touched.”

 **Pepper:** “Right.”

_Pepper continues scribbling on his notebook._

**Natsuki:** “Hey, what is that cipher symbol on the map for?”

 **Pepper:**  “I actually don't really know.”

 **Kaz:**  “Ciphers are codes, if we decipher them, we can get new information or unlock something new.”

 **Pooks:**  “Really?! Let's go there right now, you're good at these stuff, riight, Kaz~!?”

 **Kaz [nervous chuckle]:** “I-I dunno, haha. I think I consider myself an amateur.”

 **Pepper:**  “I believe you have great potential, but it's a big risk. There was a sensor there earlier, and it may attract an unwanted visitor.”

 **Natsuki:**  “Yeah... I don't think that'd be good.”

 **Pooks:**  “Can't it be removed?”

 **Pepper:**  “No, it's built-in, and we can't just break something so important.”

 **Kaz:**  “Perhaps once we come up with a technique against the hunter, we'll be able to check the cipher out.”

 **Natsuki:**  “What does your notes say so far, Pepper?”

 **Pepper:**  “Well, based on what we were talking about...”

_Pepper shows everyone his notes._

>   * Everyone got knocked out upon arrival. 
>   * Phones are unavailable/broken.
>   * All items still intact (excluding phone), nothing was stolen.
>   * Ominous letter stating "Beware of the hunter" found in the execution house.
>   * Hunter's identity/appearance unknown.
>   * Cipher may uncover relevant information.
> 


**Natsuki:** “So far, so good.”

 **Kaz:**  “I hope we learn more about what's going on...”

 

  ** _Downloading information..._**

 

**━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━**

****

**【PARTY CHANGE】**

****

**━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━**

 

 **???:**  “Come on missy, please don't hide. I promise I won't bite.”

 **???#2:** “...”

**『SHII - STATUS: ALIVE; HURT』**

**Shii:** “You literally wounded me all over, it's only natural that I hide!”

 **???:**  “Oho... are you sure?”

 **Shii:** “Sure? Look at my legs, t-they're bleeding nonstop!”

 **???:**  “Well, take a good look again.”

 **Shii:**  “Huh?”

_Shii blinked twice, her mouth agape at what had just happened._

__ **『SHII - STATUS: ALIVE』**

**Shii:** “W-What? The cuts are gone? How can this be?”

 **???:**  “I'm truly sorry to have scared you, it was not my intention.”

 **Shii:** “W-Who are you...?”

 **???:**  “My, we're already forwarding to introductions?”

 **???:**  “Very well, you deserve it. You were a good volunteer for my show~.”

 **Shii:**  “Show? What do you mean?”

**『TACO- STATUS: ALIVE』**

 

 **Taco:**  “It doesn't state in my description, however I am an entertainer~.”

 **Shii:**  “U-Um... description?”

 **Taco:**  “Oh, do not worry about that. Anyways, my name is Taco. I work as a trickster, I've performed in front of various audiences. Pleased to meet your acquaintance.”

 **Shii:**  “Ah... we're similar in a sense, then. I'm Shii, and I'm an illusionist...”

 **Taco:**  “That does explain your random teleportation skills. That caught me off-guard.”

 **Shii:**  “Really? That was pretty basic. I can't "teleport" farther away, I can only do it within a small distance. It's a cheap trick, easy to figure out...”

 **Taco:**  “I don't know how that works, I think it's impressive.”

 **Shii:**  “Say... how did you get here?”

 **Taco:**  “Oh, me?”

 **Shii:**  “I-If you don't mind me asking, of course!”

 **Taco:**  “I decided to lurk here. Anywhere is my home, just not _there_.”

 **Shii:**  “"There"?”

 **Taco:**  “It is fine. I know I am rather suspicious, however I assure you that I bring no harm.”

 **Shii:**  “I think... I can trust you.”

 **Taco:** “So easily!”

 **Shii:** “You said you did not bring harm!”

 **Taco:**  “Yes, that is true. What I mean to say is that, are you the type of person who easily gives your faith to others?”

 **Shii:** “...”

 **Taco:** “Oh, you need not answer that question.”

 **Shii:**  “Do you know how to leave?”

 **Taco:**  “See, that's the problem we have.”

 **Shii:** “No... you don't mean...”

 **Taco:**  “We are trapped. Imprisoned. We are victims. This is not just an ordinary location.”

 **Shii:**  “You seem to know a lot about it...”

 **Taco:**  “It is not my first time visiting this area, after all.”

 **Shii:**  “W-What?!”

 **Taco:**  “But! I've only ever roamed around the entrance. This was my first time going inside of the venue. Stepping inside of it, I fell unconscious, and my head began to throb. Although I've dismissed it as an illusion.”

 **Shii:**  “T-That's a big concern!”

**『TACO - STATUS: ALIVE; CRITICAL CONDITION』**

 

 **Taco:** “Hah. 'Tis nothing but a scratch.”

 **Shii:**  “I'll get you treated...!”

 **Taco:**  “You don't need to.”

 **Shii:**  “No, I insist...”

 **Taco:**  “...”

 **Shii:**  “Come on, you're hurt...”

 **Taco:**  “You really insist..?”

 **Shii [nodding]:** “Of course.”

 **Taco [blushing]:** “Thank you, Shii...” 

 **???:**  “Someone, help me, help me! NO! NOOOO!”

 **Shii and Taco:** “!?”

 

**━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━**

****

**【PARTY CHANGE】**

****

**━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━**

 

 **Kaz:** “Aaand, it's done.”

 **Pooks:**  “It feels as though nothing changed at all.”

 **Kaz:**  “I'm sure this cipher unlocked something somewhere...”

 **Pepper:**  “Good job nonetheless. I'm glad we planned this out smoothly.”

 **Natsuki:** “This nearly gave me a heart attack. I kept hearing things.”

 **???:** “Someone, help me, help me! NO! NOOOO!”

 **Natsuki:**  “...”

 **Natsuki:** “I think I'm hearing things again.”

 **Pooks:**  “Oh, don't worry. We have a psychologist.”

 **Pepper:**  “Nope, I definitely heard it too.”

 **Kaz:**  “S-Someone's in trouble!”

 **Natsuki:** “It sounded like it came from far away, though...!”

 **Pooks:**  “Are we going to rescue them!?”

 **Kaz:**  “I'd feel bad if we didn't...!”

 **Pepper:**  “But it could be a trick too...”

 **Pooks:**  “Then what the hell are we going to do?”

 **Natsuki:** “I...”

 **Kaz:**  “We need to choose wisely... our decisions could give us trouble or that person trouble.”

 

**━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━**

_What will they do?_

 

***All endings will be showcased, however whatever you choose leads to the "true" ending this scenario will have.**

**━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━**

**SCENE 2 END**

**SCENE 2 END**

 


	3. The Master

 

**Chosen Ending**

**━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━**  

**『YUMI - STATUS: CRITICAL CONDITION』**

**???:**  “Did you really think you could easily get away? How pathetic of you.”

_A taunting laugh echoes throughout the location. Words filled with nothing but malice. Yumi had vines with thorns entangled around her, with each struggle she makes, she creates wounds for herself, but she did not want to give up. Tears were falling down from the girl's face. She wanted to escape._

**???:**  “Life is always cruel.”

 **???:**  “You can't get what you want, you have to **work** for it.”

 **???:** “Sometimes, you don't even get it at all.”

 **???:**  “Do you understand what I'm saying?”

_Her smile was crooked._

**???:**  “Then again, with the likes of you, you're probably never going to understand so long as you keep struggling that way.”

_The figure spat at Yumi's feet, circling around her to check whoever is getting near her territory. She made sure to keep a good eye on her spot._

**Yumi:** “Please...please... someone...”

 **???:**  “Wooow! ☆ Are you pleading for help?”

 **???:** “You know, even when there's a savior... someone will always die in a horror story.”

 **???:**  “And I'm not so kindhearted as you think.”

 **Yumi:** “W-Why...? What did I do...?”

 **???:**  “I'm only doing this because of **Master**.  **Master** 's words are absolute. If I were sane enough, I would have not chose to follow  **Master** 's ways.”

 **Yumi:**  “A master...?”

 **???:**  “That's right.”

 **???:**  “Master taught me how to become independent. Master taught me how to defend myself. To fight. That's why Master means a lot to me. **No one ever helped me but Master.** ”

 **Yumi:** “...”

 **???:**  “I hate that I pity people too much.”

 **???:**  “I'm so glad Master took me in.”

_During this conversation, Yumi stopped her struggle. She started thinking about this circumstance carefully and decided to ponder on possibilities as to how this person ended up this way._

**Yumi [thinking]:** _There's always a reason, but who on earth is this " **master** "? How powerful is this individual to have made such a big mess here? _

 **Yumi [thinking]:** _Not to mention... having full control over somebody's mind is terrifying. I fear that if I do anything to anger the " **master** ", I may end up in trouble. To begin with, I'm trapped. I can't really do much about myself right now._

 **Yumi:**  “...”

 **???:**  “If only Master could take you in, maybe I'd think twice about killing you.”

 **Yumi:** “...Huh?”

 **Yumi [thinking]:** _So, " **master** " recruits people? Is this how it works? You choose to either serve someone or die... how awful!_

 **???:**  “It's not too late~ however, at the same time, that would be such a bore! We can't just take **_everyone trapped here_** in, am I right?!”

 **???:**  “And it would be so inconvenient if Master stopped praising me! I want to be praised, so **I'll make sure to kill every person I see!** ”

 **???:**  “Ahahaha! Hahahahaha!”

**[SFX: BANG!]**

**???:**  “Aahh...! AAAH! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?”

 **Yumi:**  “W-What?!”

_A familiar face comes running towards Yumi. She looked spectacularly pale, it looked as if she was about to pass out any moment soon._

**Natsuki [panting]:**  “Yumi, we need to run!”

 **Yumi:**  “Natsuki!? W-Why are you here!?”

 **Natsuki:**  “Because we all came here together, didn't we!? Now, hurry, we don't have much time left!”

 **Yumi:** “But now you're in danger too━”

 **Natsuki:** “Yumi, you know what? What's important right now is that you're safe. Please, let's just go, okay?”

 **Yumi:** “N-Natsuki...”

 **Natsuki:** “Save your tears for later! Time's running out!”

 **???:**  “ **Well, damn fucking right it is!** ”

**『MURIMA - STATUS: ALIVE』**

**Murima:** “ **Too bad, you missed the shot.** ”

 **Natsuki:** “...!”

_Natsuki aims her gun at Murima yet again. Murima retrieves her violin from her baggage and begins to play it at incredible speed. As she does so, Natsuki pulls the trigger however none of the bullets hit the right target despite her being skilled with directions._

**Natsuki:**  “Shit!”

 **Murima:**  “Do you really think you can win against me? I'm a talented musician!”

_Natsuki, losing her ammo, throws her gun at Murima, only for it to stray away further. She mentally curses herself, but there was no other choice left as the rest had no weapons equipped. Murima inches herself closer to both Natsuki and Yumi, raising her metallic bat._

**Murima:** “I told you, you can never win against me.”

 **Murima:** “No matter what you do, we'll always find you.”

 **Murima:** “ **Never forget that.** ”

**[SFX: BANG!]**

**Murima:** “ **W-What t** he...?!”

_Murima loses balance from the shot. She starts bleeding out._

**Pepper:**  “ **Natsuki!** **When you're out of range, her music doesn't have effect!** ”

 **Natsuki:** “...!”

 **Kaz:** “She's only strong when you're near her! We need to run!”

 **Murima:**  “ **Do you all wish to die?** ”

 **Natsuki:**  “Yumi, we need to leave!”

 **Natsuki:** “Yumi...?”

_Yumi was nowhere to be found._

**Natsuki:** “Huh?”

 **Pooks:** “Everything you see is all a  **lie!** Come on, Natsuki~! Let's run!”

_Pooks pops out and grabs Natsuki's arm, and drags her along with him, Yumi, Pepper, and Kaz._

**Natsuki:** “Pepper...how did you know?”

 **Pepper:**  “Oh? Well, it seemed as though that girl was trying  _too_ hard to make her music loud. Staying away from her within a distance would enable you to use your skill.”

 **Natsuki:** “I ran out of ammo, how did...”

 **Pepper:** “I prepared extras prior to our trip. I had a hunch.”

 **Kaz:**  “You sure are smart, huh.”

 **Pepper:** “Oh, nah. I've just been told I could read people really well.”

 **Pooks:**  “I-I'm getting kind of tired.”

 **Yumi:** “W-What?! Are you okay?!”

 **Pooks:** “Oh, don't worry! That was a lie~!”

 **Pooks [coughing]:** “Y-You know me! Ahahaha~!”

 **Kaz:** “Don't push yourself, Pooks...”

 **Pooks:** “I'm genuinely fine!”

 **Pepper:**  “Yeah... no. We  _really_ need to hide...”

 **Pooks:** “Where to?”

**[SFX: SPOTLIGHT ON]**

**Taco:** “Salutations, audience! Over here!”

 **Shii:** “M-My friends are here! Here! Over here!”

_Pepper, Kaz, Yumi, and Natsuki head over to Taco and Shii's hiding spot._

**Natsuki:** “Pooks! Why aren't you coming?!”

 **Pooks:** “Don't worry about me~! I'm stalling you all time! I promise I'll get there! Now, go!”

 **Natsuki:** “Pooks...! We're going together, okay!? I'm not coming without you!”

 **Pooks:** “Well, aren't you  _always_ stubborn? Just leave already! I don't need you guys!”

 **Kaz:** “Natsuki's right though...there's danger! Why are you leaving yourself behind?”

 **Pooks:** “Trust me~! I may be a liar, but I promise I'll come back!”

 **Natsuki:** “No, no, please! We need to go together!”

_Murima could be seen getting closer to them._

**Pooks:** “Natsuki.”

_Pooks reaches out to Natsuki, and pats her head._

**Pooks:** “ **I promise.** ”

 **Natsuki:** “...”

 **Pepper:** “Natsuki, you need to give your trust to Pooks. It's very rarely that he ever makes a promise.”

 **Natsuki:** “Pooks... when you're in danger, yell, okay?! A-And, you better return after five minutes or I'll strangle you myself!”

 **Taco:** “There is not much time, my friends. Let us venture to my carnival.”

_Taco leads the pathway, as they spread out traps everywhere else._

**Pepper:** “Natsuki, we need to keep moving.”

 **Shii:**  “N _-_ Natsuki... Let's believe in Pooks, o-okay?”

 **Kaz:**  “We're close to escaping.”

 **Natsuki:** “I-I know, I'll focus!”

_They began following Taco's lead, and slowly, they descended farther into the location. Somewhere safer._

 

**━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━**

**It's been a while.**

“Is there a way to save  ~~XXX~~ ~~~~?”

“We are terribly sorry, there's no other way. In order to save  ~~XXX~~ , you must  ~~#$%~~ @#$ **#**! rki# **b** $%” They expressed with sorrow. They held the patient's hand. “They're losing energy. There's not much time left. You do understand that you are left with no choice, right?”

“Yes...”

“I'm going to leave you with  ~~XXX~~... please take good care of yourselves.”

“I know.”

 **#$** @# **%** left the room, leaving the two behind. Suddenly, %$^$% left inside of the room with  ~~XXX~~ , they began to cry. They held them closely, not wanting to let go. Any moment now, the person they held dearest could disappear.

“I'll do anything for you, so please...  **don't leave me alone.** ”

“ **Even if I have to kill.** ”

“ **For as long as you're here with me...** ”

“ **I'll be okay.** ”

**━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━**

 

_Natsuki stared at the campfire. She was feeling out of it, everyone could see it in her eyes. She didn't want to leave a friend all alone, especially with a dangerous person. Though, they had no choice. If she were to bring Pooks, all of them would have gotten caught._

**Kaz:**  “Hey, Tsuki... you're not going to sleep?”

 **Natsuki:** “No...Pooks has been gone for way too long... can't we wait for him to return...?”

 **Taco:** “You did not even eat dinner, you should not starve yourself.”

 **Pepper:** “Natsuki, it's going to be okay.  **He promised** , and come on, he wouldn't want you to hurt yourself this way either.”

 **Natsuki:** “I-I know, Pepper. Thank you... I guess I just... I'm just overly worried.”

 **Shii:** “W-We set up such a nice tent.”

 **Pepper:** “Yeah, I'm going to stay up, then next will be Taco, afterwards will be Kaz. Natsuki, Yumi, and Shii, you all need the rest you guys can get.”

 **Shii:** “You sure you don't need us to stay up so you three could get enough rest too...?”

 **Kaz:** “We'll be fine.”

 **Taco:** “I set up about a total of 1,532 mini-traps, it would take them approximately five hours and six minutes to catch up to us that way.”

 **Yumi:** “The only reason I got caught was because I was trying to dismantle the hunter's weapons...”

 **Natsuki:** “Yumi...”

_Natsuki embraces her, along with Shii._

**Natsuki:** “I promise I'll protect you guys... so let's rest up...”

 **Pepper:** “Not going to eat?”

 **Natsuki:** “I'm fine.”

 **Pepper:**  “You should at least take this.”

_Pepper hands Natsuki over a sandwich._

**Natsuki [smile]:** “Thank you, Pepper.”

 **Shii:** “I'm glad we're not alone...”

 **Yumi:** “Let's just hope that tomorrow will be a better day, and that Pooks returns to us safely!”

 **Natsuki:** “Mhm...”

 **Taco:** “Then, let us begin the watching shifts.”

 **Kaz:** “Got it.”

 

  ** _Downloading information..._**

  **━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━**

 

 

 **???:** “My, what a turn of events...”

_They close the cameras and turn to their main screen. They start typing codes before clicking the "enter" button. As soon as that was finished with, there were lights with different colors that began to light up. Two of the same color for each._

**???:** “Well, this should do. Bounded to another person... how painful.”

_They let out a small chuckle, one filled with confusion, grudge, sadness, and happiness altogether. They were scared of what they've become, but they had no choice left. They couldn't do anything else. It was for the sake of **XXX** , after all._

**???:** “For you, my dear...”

 **???:** “ **I will do anything.** ”

 

  **━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━**

**【SCENE 3: END】**

****

**【ACHIEVEMENT GET: A MASTER'S WISH】**

****

 

**【SCENE 3: END】**

 


End file.
